Monday, May 29, 2006

The Look of Guilt


Pitiful Ollie
Originally uploaded by Uncle Mikey.
And by guilt I mean he's projecting it, not expressing it. You should feel guilty about not giving him treats, or rubbing his belly. Because his life is hard.

Actually, Ollie was very ill recently. On Mother's Day he started acting a little weird and unhappy, walking slowly and sort of hunched, and later he started shaking and straining. Later he threw up some and started dripping pee when he strained, and I took him to the emergency vet, where it was determined he had a urinary tract blockage of some sort, and that his bladder was many times its natural size. They catheterized him and gave him some painkiller and antibiotics, after which I suspect he passed whatever was blocking his peepee. The next day he still couldn't pee, but now it was because his urethra spasmed every time he tried, irritation from the two catheter sessions and passing some crystals I believe.

Finally he got put on a steroid that helped the irritation but made him a little incontinent, but frankly I was so happy he was peeing at all that I didn't mind that the stairs were soaked in some of the worst smelling dog pee I've ever imagined at 3 a.m., and luckily when he peed on the bed the next night, it was on top of a folded blanket and an old feather pillow, and never reached the bed itself. Thank God for small things.

All in all I think Ollie's earned the right to use his Guilt ray. Get all the goodness you can, Ollie, it's your best weapon.

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